Controlling Holiday Shopping Expenses

Have Realistic Expectations – You are probably not Warren Buffet, meaning you don’t have a giant budget for gifts. So be reasonable in your expectations and don’t put undue pressure on yourself. Just because people ask for new trucks or $300 games for the holidays doesn’t mean anything to your real-life budget. Don’t feel guilty for being prudent!

Agree About Gift exchanges – You don:t have to give gifts to show love. Agree to limit gift-giving to kids or pick a name and exchange with one person. You aren’t santa Claus. He lives at the North Pole and he will handle everyone’s gifts.

Get a Job for the Holidays – some folks regularly get a job at the holidays to cover the added costs of speacil foods and presents. You could open a Chiristmas Club account and save a little each week all year or you could get a holiday job.

Give creatively- instead of giving cash give babysitting, cake decorating, snow shoveling. There are many ways for you to show love by giving of yourself and not just your money.

Party at Home- parties at home can be awesome. It saves money, and if you take turns visiting the homes of your friends and family you can have a lot of fun and keep costs way down.

For those people of faith this is the time of year to remember sacrifice and miracles and not money or wealth.